Our flight arrived in Gander at 1:30AM, and since we had to take a ferry to Fogo Island, this required spending a night in Gander. Gander is more of a highway town than anything, so it doesn’t have much in the way of lodging. There seem to be a few hotels, and based on Trip Advisor reviews, it looks like the Comfort Inn is the nicest option.

So we booked that. It was sold out when I first looked at hotels a few weeks before the trip, though it opened up a few days before our anticipated stay. The hotel isn’t cheap for the area/brand — our rate was 160CAD (~120USD). That was roughly the same price as the other hotels in the area, including Sinbad’s Hotel & Suites and the Albatross Inn.

It was a cruel 15 degrees Fahrenheit outside when we arrived in Gander, and with very gusty winds, it felt significantly colder than that. For a few moments we questioned why we decided to subject ourselves to this (though any doubt was wiped away the next day).

We rented a car, and the drive from the airport took about five minutes, though that only happened after sitting in the parking lot for about 20 minutes trying to get the ice off our windshield, as it was just about frozen solid. As someone who hasn’t voluntarily spent much time in a cold climate for as long as I can remember, I felt a bit like Paris Hilton in “The Simple Life.”

The Comfort Inn isn’t especially nice looking from the outside.

Comfort Inn Gander exterior

We pulled right up to the front for check-in formalities, but ended up parking around the back of the hotel, where our room was located.

Comfort Inn Gander exterior

The lady working the nightshift was friendly, and within about a minute we had a key to our room.

Comfort Inn Gander reception

The lobby had a small sitting area, as well as a computer, along with a couple of vending machines.

Comfort Inn Gander lobby

Comfort Inn Gander business center & vending machine

After parking around the backside we found our room, #100, which was at the end of the hallway.

Comfort Inn Gander hallway

Comfort Inn Gander room exterior

Comfort Inn Gander floorplan

The room was… beautiful! It has been a long time since I’ve stayed at a Comfort Inn, though I was very impressed. This room was every bit as nice as what I’d expect in a Hilton, Marriott, etc.

Comfort Inn Gander king room

The room featured a comfortable king size bed with five pillows. The mattress was soft, and sheets were reasonably good quality.

Comfort Inn Gander king bed

In the corner by the window was a pretty basic chair with ottoman, which had no stains on it (if I had a dollar for every horribly stained hotel room chair I’ve seen…).

Comfort Inn Gander king room seat & ottoman

Across from that was the desk and TV. There was a legitimate office chair, which I’d usually appreciate, though didn’t have a need for with this stay. Still, so many hotels I stay at don’t get office chairs right, so I was happy to see that. There was a large TV on top of a dresser, which had plenty of drawers.

Comfort Inn Gander king room desk & TV

Comfort Inn Gander king room

Back near the entrance was a coffee machine, as well as a mini-fridge. I do wish there had been some bottled water somewhere in the room, but there wasn’t.

Comfort Inn Gander in-room coffee maker

Comfort Inn Gander mini fridge

The bathroom was also quite nice, and featured a sink, toilet, and walk-in shower.

Toiletries were provided by Raio. To be honest I didn’t shower during the stay, but the hand soap was fine.

Comfort Inn Gander toiletries

By the time we settled in it was 3AM, and we wanted to be up by 7AM, so it was a very short night. However, we got 3-4 hours of sleep, and woke up to a view of a parking lot and a lot of snow.

Comfort Inn Gander room view

The room was clean, in great condition, and the wifi was fast and free.

Shortly after waking up we headed to the breakfast room, located just down the hall, near the lobby. Breakfast is served at the hotel from 6AM until 10AM, and is included for all guests.

Comfort Inn Gander breakfast area

Comfort Inn Gander breakfast room

The breakfast was almost identical to what you’d find at virtually any limited service property, so I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Comfort Inn Gander breakfast

Comfort Inn Gander breakfast

Comfort Inn Gander breakfast

Comfort Inn Gander breakfast

Comfort Inn Gander breakfast

Comfort Inn Gander breakfast

Comfort Inn Gander breakfast

Comfort Inn Gander breakfast

Personally I’m not a huge fan of processed egg/meat dishes (which is tough when you fly a lot), so I had some cereal, yogurt, and coffee, which hit the spot. Overall it was a nice breakfast.

While we didn’t use it, I also checked out the gym, located on the basement level.

Comfort Inn Gander stairs to gym

The gym was extremely basic, with just a few pieces of equipment.

Comfort Inn Gander gym

Comfort Inn Gander gym

Comfort Inn Gander gym

There was also a sign pointing towards guest laundry, which is an amenity that I wish more hotels offered. I did see a washing machine and dryer, and didn’t see anywhere to insert coins, so maybe it was free? Cool!

Comfort Inn Gander laundry

Our plan was to take the 11:30AM ferry from Farewell to Fogo Island, so we left the hotel at around 9AM. That was way earlier than we needed to go, but we didn’t know what the conditions would be like.

Comfort Inn Gander bottom line

Our six hour stay at the Comfort Inn exceeded my expectations, in particular our room. While the hotel didn’t look like much from the outside, the rooms were in good condition, clean, and well appointed, much more so than many other major chain hotels I’ve stayed at. The free breakfast was good as well, and the limited interaction I had with the staff there was positive. I’d absolutely recommend this hotel if overnighting in Gander, and I can see why it’s the top rated hotel there.

I've been using Plastiq for well over a year now to occasionally pay our mortgage, insurance, property taxes and other bills that I otherwise couldn't pay with a credit card. That has helped me meet the initial spending requirements on a few credit cards,…

A few months ago I wrote about Azores Airlines, which at the time was my latest airline obsession. For those of you not familiar, the Azores is an archipelago in the mid-Atlantic that belongs to Portugal. Azores Airlines has an old fleet, but does have…

More from One Mile at a Time

I was recently in Seattle for a couple of nights, a trip which I booked pretty last minute. Seattle is a very seasonal hotel market. In winter rates are quite low, while in summer they aren't. Most decent hotels were running $400+ per night, so I decided…

Choice Hotels is currently running a promotion where you can buy points for a 30% discount. The promotion runs through August 17th. And you need to buy at least 40,000 points to maximize the discount. It's not all that unusual for hotel chains to run…

I recently visited Tiffany in Spokane for a couple of days, as she recently moved there. Spokane is a bit of an unusual hotel market. While I'm usually loyal to Hyatt or Starwood, neither brand has a hotel there. However, while the city isn't huge, it…

Delta has been growing significantly in Seattle, and last October they opened a gorgeous new SkyClub as part of their investment in the airport. Nick wrote about the lounge back when it opened, though I wanted to add a review as well, given how impressed…

This is going to be a short review, as this was a flight without a meal service and we napped most of the way, but I figured I'd share my general thoughts on United's domestic first class product. Our flight was scheduled to board at 7:37PM, so we headed…

Our flight from Frankfurt landed at 5:30PM, while our connecting flight to Los Angeles was at around 8:20PM. Our flight arrived at the E Concourse, while our connecting flight was departing from the C Concourse. Global Entry was quick, though it's a…

About luckyBen Schlappig (aka Lucky) is a travel consultant, blogger, and avid points collector. He travels about 400,000 miles a year, primarily using miles and points to fund his first class experiences. He chronicles his adventures, along with industry news, here at One Mile At A Time.

I recently watched this musical called Come From Away, which is set in Gander. I didn’t know this but after US closed its airspace on 9/11, several international flights had to land in Gander (doubling its population overnight!)

Looks like the place was recently renovated. And I really agree with your comment about a “legitimate office chair.” So many hotels have cheap fabric or vinyl covered ones that squeak and wobble. And they can never be adjusted high enough – I like office chairs that bring me right up to just below the desk surface.

Bgriff: Probably has to do with the same reason upscale hotels charge for wifi, they’re business hotels and most of those charges to said business traveler are likely written off as expenses by their employers.
Though, I have seen a Hilton hotel have self service laundry available before. But it’s probably pretty rare.

Recent Trip Reports

I was recently in Seattle for a couple of nights, a trip which I booked pretty last minute. Seattle is a very seasonal hotel market. In winter rates are quite low, while in summer they aren't. Most decent hotels were running $400+ per night, so I decided…

I recently visited Tiffany in Spokane for a couple of days, as she recently moved there. Spokane is a bit of an unusual hotel market. While I'm usually loyal to Hyatt or Starwood, neither brand has a hotel there. However, while the city isn't huge, it…

Delta has been growing significantly in Seattle, and last October they opened a gorgeous new SkyClub as part of their investment in the airport. Nick wrote about the lounge back when it opened, though I wanted to add a review as well, given how impressed…

This is going to be a short review, as this was a flight without a meal service and we napped most of the way, but I figured I'd share my general thoughts on United's domestic first class product. Our flight was scheduled to board at 7:37PM, so we headed…

Recent Posts

Over the years I've spent a significant amount of time in Dubai. I got the objections people have with the UAE (and I suspect I share almost all of them), though it's still a place that energizes me, and I can't easily put into words why. That's neither…

Ben recommends earning transferable points when possible. They provide a lot of flexibility since you can hold them in your account until you are ready to redeem them. This provides a level of diversification because if one airline or hotel program devalues,…

Ben and I have recently been sharing our experiences flying low cost carriers. He and I both flew Spirit for the first time this summer, while I've also had several flights on Frontier over the past few years. I even flew SkyBus during their brief history!…

Last week I wrote about the Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card, which is probably the single most well rounded business credit card out there. The card has a huge 80,000 point sign-up bonus (by my math the biggest bonus of any card), offers triple points…

About Lucky

Ben Schlappig (aka Lucky) is a travel consultant, blogger, and avid points collector. He travels about 400,000 miles a year, primarily using miles and points to fund his first class experiences. He chronicles his adventures, along with industry news, here at One Mile At A Time.

Meet The Team

One Mile at a Time is owned by PointsPros, Inc. This site is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this site is not an investment advisor, financial planner, nor legal or tax professional and articles here are of an opinion and general nature and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances.

Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. Outside of banner ads published through the Boarding Area network, this compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site. While we do try to list all the best miles and points deals, the site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners.

Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.